This was the night that Jerry traded places with August West and flew away. First show that I ever walked out of shaking my head and my last show as well - though that wasn't planned.

I was up in Highgate a few days earlier and that scene took a lot out of me. Oddly enough at both shows, Bob Dylan kicked ass! He was reaching his zenith. Wasn't expecting that.

As I walked out the stadium I could hear the band still playing, echoing through the parking lot of the meadowlands. Only in hindsight do I realize how accurately the lyrics from Stella Blue capture the way I felt that night.

When all the cards are down
There's nothing left to see
There's just the pavement left
And broken dreams

Not long after Jerry died things changed for me big time - in a good way though - but that's another story.

Went to both this night and the next. My last "home state" shows [grew up in Bergen County before leaving for college, then law school, then the shock of adult life in 1976]. I had revisited the second night just to see if it was as awful as I remembered. Sadly, it was. Especially the 2nd set with Jerry's guitar all but turned off. But nagging me all these years was this show. My recollection was that it was pretty good. I remembered everything in the first set being played at a quick pace. And Jerry being "present' most of the second. So listening to it today, I'm shocked at how spot on my memory is [early onset dementia?]. Considering the other summer '95 shows I caught [Highgate, RFK, and night 2 in NJ], this is actually a decent show.... Understand why I was dancing this night but not the next. Anyway, all things being equal, not too shabby.....

I just finished 10th grade took my algebra final the day b4 so I could go...went with a good friend & just b4 the encore I let out a really loud whistle when it got sumwhat quiet inside...(we had seats at about the 30 yard line closest to the stage)...so we were close 2 the center of the stadium...anyways the whistle echoed thru the stadium & I said I hope they were still recording cuz that's gonna b on the bootleg tape...about a half a yr later my friend found the tape of the concert & sure enough the whistle was on it...pretty crazy & he remembered how it sounded & verifies its my whistle...just crazy that I can hear my whistle in a crowd of 70,000 people...not sure of how may people were there but I kno giants stadium for a football game held about 80,000 I think & it was packed...even though Jerry was off & guitar broke I had an awesome time...pretty crazy for a 1st concert rating it 5 stars cuz it was the Dead my 1st concert ever plus my whistle on the live tape

I sold my ticket in the parking lot after the show and went down the next night to hang out. Friends of mine and myself included figured Jerry would clean up and be healthy for the fall tour. "there's nothing you can hold for very long."

The post drums deserves one star but through the drums space this is a decent show. I feel the 2.5 stars it has overall is probably pretty accurate. The China Rider is nice and the eyes is certainly listenable and played at a nice pace with Jerry audible throughout but playing and singing. The Wharf Rat is the low point maybe of alltime on stage. Jerry must have chased the dragon when he left for drums, Before that and even through space this show is enjoyable, it is not life changing dead but it beats Ratdog or most Dead cover acts. Only saw them twice after this show and this was better than either of those by leaps and bounds. Many just automatically give 1995 1 star.

I remember watching a VH1 'Behind The Music' on 'Twisted Sister' and hearing D Snider talk about a show they played at a festival where the audience started throwing things on stage at them. They were forced to run for cover, and when one of their roadies went back onstage to remove the bands equipment he noticed that there were turds on the stage. The roady informed Mr. Snider that some audience members actually through shit at them, Snider was beside himself that someone could be so disgusted by a live performance that they would actually pull down their pants, squat on the ground, take a shit, then pick it up with their bare hands and throw it at them!
Well I wasn't at this show. And I'm not sure exactly what I would have done with all those people around me, but here listening to this show in the privacy of my home, I actually was so disgusted by this performance, that I pulled down my pants right here in my own living room, shit on my hardwood floor, picked it up with my bare hands and threw it at my speakers.

So I could give it 3 thumbs down.

As our british friends like to say - total shite.

I wish I was as blissfully unaware as some of the noobs that defend this and the other unfortunate performances that occurred in summer of '95.

unfortunitly , this was my only show , graduated from hight school the day of VT, was tring to get my shit toghter to leave and catch up with tour whn he passed.... i did get to do the first three further tours , will never forget the feeling of being there that one time thou!!! loved it! four stars for the experence and life journey to follow.......

This would be my last Dead show, it was also Father's Day, my daughter arrived 3 weeks after Jerry died, she is named Cassidy. A wonderful segway in my life.

And Jerry WAS, folks. Let's not forget he's less than TWO months away from death at this point. Yes, he's LOST on something as commonplace as "Wharf Rat", but the man had given all he had to give, and he gave it to US. And for that, I am forever "Grateful".

Rest in peace, my friend. Thank you for some of the best times of my life.

I understand Jerry, I understand, I hope you're doing well. Love you.

I started with the Grateful Dead in the Spring of 1983. I got off the bus in 1988 and 1989 and returned in 1990,as I had too much of a good thing. I attended 3 concerts on this final tour, starting in Vermont and seeing both at Giants Stadium. I met up with some old Deadheads, that took me to my first concert on 4-12-83. I thought this concert was the best performance I had seen in years (approx. 1991. The 'whole' thing' became too big. I remember the crowd being almost louder than the band and guffawing as a group during the transition into 'Wharf Rat' and then doing the 'Not Fade Away' clap as if trying to force the tune from the band. While The Grateful Dead may have had somewhat of a format in the later years and worked hard to please their fans, they were not a 'juke box'. I think this was a great performance for the year. Maybe, it goes back to what Bill Graham reiterated before the encore at the 4-29-71 concert. The Grateful Dead are not a band, they are an environment. Your personal experience at the concert is more important than someone else's perception. I don't really want to analyze it to death, either. Take it for what it is or move on.

WAS THE STAGGER LEE NOT WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION, IT WAS FOR ME, I'LL TAKE A SO CALLED OF JERRY ANY NIGHT OF THE WEEK OVER THE STONES,FLOYD,ZEP, OR PHISH LOL

This was my final time seeing the late great Jerry Garc1a perform. My first concert was at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic NJ in 1978 when I was 13. I feel blessed to have been on board for 17 of the Garcia years. I continue to go to this day and thank God have been fortunate enough to have not missed any of the incarnations after Jerry died. The Other Ones - The Furthur Festivals - The Dead - Phil and Friends - Ratdog and now Furthur. I go for the same reason now at 45 years old as I did way back when. I just dig it (the good - bad and the ugly / warts and all)
Us East Coast deadheads are very fortunate being the band played the hell out of our area and still do. MSG - The Meadowlands - Nassau - The Spectrum - The Capitol - The Tower - Englishtown and Giants Stadium. Like I said this was my final show and I treasure it. 1995 was what it was and thats it. To say the magic was gone is fucken ridiculous. I was there at the Spectrum for the 1st Unbroken Chain and when the crowd realized in a state of disbelieve what was happining it was MAGICAL. The Visions of Johanna on 7-8-95 - MAGICAL - the So Many Roads on 7-9-95 was MAGICAL. There were some ass kickin nights in 95. This show for example was a good 95 show. Yes it did fall apart with Wharfrat and Not Fade Away. Wharfrat was sad and beautiful all at the same time. It is clear Garcia was lost BIG TIME. If he'd stuck with the faster arrangment he went to after the 2 minutes of fumbling it could have been pulled off. When he switched to the usual arrangement in the middle you knew it was totally fucked up and he was lost. And yes there was no solo during Not Fade Away. So fucken what -- WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH -- nope lets not say thanks for 30 great years. Lets talk shit about a musical genius who was clearly fading away before our eyes. This guy gave the best he had to give right till the end. Dont you haters realize this. I mean what the fuck the guy would be dead in less than 3 months. Jesus Christ most people stay home from work with the flu. Picture going to work in front of 50000 people when you have less than 3 months to live - Jerry must have felt like shit and still was 50 times better than most. I'm right now listening to the China Cat and am totally diggin the drumming intro and this Spanish Jam is excellent - I mean great. Again this show was good man - trust me I was there. God Bless Jerry Garcia and God Bless the Grateful Dead. There's nothing like a Grateful Dead Concert !!!

that's why i love all my dead-head brethren, you are all such a sentimental bunch of romantics. you love thinking that there was some epically tragic saga of betrayal that led to jerry's demise. Maybe the man lived and died doing exactly what he said he loved to do, playing music for people.
Only Jerry knows whether or not he meant to play Wharf Rat with a different arrangement or if it was a mistake that he rolled with. either way it was quite a noble execution. most bands don't change tempo or time signature within songs. here is a case where, just prior to the bridge, tempo changes twice and shifts to a new time signature of 3/4. all this with ostensibly NO rehearsal. that is quite a feat for any band.
It's like what Bono said about the rugged individualism of the 60's " It was the last time that people did'nt really care to explain themselves, ..if you did'nt get it , you were'nt invited".

Everyone and anyone who every went to a Dead show encountered the inevitable brain burp from Jerry or Bobby, or even Brent, especially towards the end. I can't recall Donna or Vince ever blanking on a lyric, but it happened all the time. So, I begin with that as the basis of my argument that Jerry, despite being at one of his lowest points physically, is going through 'Wharf Rat' as if he were reading from a teleprompter. So that leads me to wonder what he must have been feeling or perceiving at that moment when he was performing Wharf Rat, because it is an intense moment of clarity. It's unbelievably simplistic, given the genius of Garcia, to dismiss the performance because, to one's ears, it 'sounds awful.' From an aesthetic point of view, especially in light of the content of that particular song, it is completely sublime. "Down and dirty..." Yes, it is, and it's 'awful' but not because it 'sounds bad,' but, because it's too real, to raw, and we feel exactly what Garcia was experiencing weeks before his untimely passing. Jerry was an artist, not an entertainer, and too often this is forgotten, and, perhaps, not understood. He wasn't lost at all during that performance, but, on the contrary, knew precisely where he was and he shared that with us. Just as so many artists have done before and after him. If you don't want to go there, then keep listening to Barton Hall, or some other show that sounds 'good', but stay clear of those performances that will take you to the darkest and most painful parts of the human heart and soul.

brutal

shed a tear...

Dunno. I'd defer to the folks who were there. But listening, it sounds to me like Jerry started out playing the main riff in double-time (i.e. twice as fast as it normally goes) but was too spaced out to realize. Once he started singing, sounds like he realized the problem but just rolled with it. So all of the first part isn't incoherent; it's just way too fast. Got it together with the transition into the bridge ("drunk on burgundy wine") and sort of had it together from there.

Wouldn't call that some kind of inspired re-invention, but it's not quite the clusterfuck folks are making it out to be, either.

The band sounds like they're stumblin' around drunk on burgundy wine. They make mistakes like they're a brand new band on their first tour and not the 30 year professionals they were. This show is perhaps the greatest argument for the Dead to have taken '95 off in order for Jerry to regain his health. March 24 is another contender. Pathetic and unnecessary, don't download this show unless you want to hear a real bummer.

Dirty Jev o I'm a drummer and sax player and have played plenty of bars and theaters in the US, Canada and Europe. What the fuck have you done?

Excellent recording of a horrid show. Must give kudos to Weir and the rhythm section for every show played on this tour (and shows prior) -- always driving, always loud, covering for Garcia as best they could.

Just going to put my $.02 on the Wharf Rat bs that's been debated here.....IF, and I mean IF Garcia WAS trying a "new feel" for the tune, then why when they came out of the bridge did they not continue w/ the "new feel"? It's a simple answer....he was lost...he was faded....after the bridge, he definitely got his bearings and it made sense. Other than that, I have to give it 5 stars simply because it was my final show...peace

What a bummer to hear Jerry so lost...this had nothing to do with re-inventing the songs. Bob is continuously standing in as front man during this show in the places Jerry should be ripping it up but could not...a lost soul on this particular night...I would have cried had I been there. Obviously, to each his own and you can enjoy this show if you want but please don't chalk this one up to some sort of new creative approach to the songs- it's just Jerry at some of his worst...

I don't know, but seems to me this was a pretty solid show. I don't really hear any of the problems ya'll refer to. I'd have to say there are better shows, but, who cares? It still is 100% better than 90% of bands out there. So are these reviews based on comparing the dead to the dead, or the dead to whatever the hell else is out there? If we're comparing to other dead shows, sure it's a 2.5 to 3 star show. If we're comparing to other performances by any other band out there, it's a 5+ star show. I don't know though, I listened to the whole thing, and I really don't know what ya'll are talking about. I think the space was fantastic, Spanish is one of my favourites, even the supposedly horrible wharf was just fine. I'm satisfied with my daily Dead.

This was the last show I saw in person and it was a real downer. I don't have a lot of music knowledge but could tell something was wrong on stage, particularly with Wharf Rat. The Dead must have done the Miracle/Rat combo hundreds of times but it took Jerry half the song to find the right tempo. Almost sounds like he is playing Throwing Stones which they wound up aborting and instead went directly into the lamest Not Fade Away I ever heard.
The first set is another six song throw away which was common place by this point. The second set had a nice set list but the playing never matched the selections. Eyes in particular never came close to the decent version I saw in Vegas a month before.
I sold my tickets for the next night and while I regret missing the show, at least I didn't have to experience Corrina\Matilda as my final Dead memory.

I just finished Blair Jackson's biography of Garcia and in it he quotes Bob Bralove saying that he really got scared when at this show, Jerry gets lost in the beginning of Wharf Rat and can't get out. He knew at that point it was much more than just the drugs that was kicking Jerry's ass.

It's interesting to listen to, as he can't find his way until the drummers take over and get the tempo together and cue him right before the burgundy wine lyric. So no, he was not trying a new arrangement as someone earlier in these reviews suggests.

This book is a must read if you really want an insiders experience and a flat out tour by tour history. It's great!

Frankly, I don't find this show as offensive as many of the previous reviewers seem to. Personally, I did my dead stuff from 87-91, but did spring 95 for nostalga's sake. My favorite years to listen to are 79, 85, 89 and 90. That being said, I was surprisingly able to get into this one, surprising because I expected the worst. The drum/piano start to China Cat is unique and cool, as is this rendition. Samson is above average. Eyes is solid, I dig the outtro to drums. The Wharf Rat is kinda interesting in a morbid sort of way. Who knows what Garcia had going through his head. Stagger Lee is pretty hot, worth checking out. Spanish jam isn't what it was so many times, but easily listenable and quite pleasing. Ditto Miracle. Hey, I don't listen to 95 much, in fact this is the first time I can remember since that tour, and this one ain't too shabby.

ssag is pretty much on the right track below
most of my 150 shows in 80's this was the rare local show, memory serves me was pretty bad, wharf rat does have the stones riff, and no lead on NFA poor jerry, i went alone and remember leaving sad like i knew it was the last time. the LSD is glorious..we all miss him

throwin and wharf rat=same notes same scale
SAME THING
fans?
i dunno anymore---------try to analyze too much?

oh....yeah---daryllizer----i have read more than a few of your downer reviews----isn't there something else you can do with your time {calling cryptical "yadda yadda" is goofy}

i'll bet you think you are guitar player or something-----have fun in the bars and at the weddings dude!

This tour was the beginning of the end. the torch was being passed from show to show and sometimes the audience had it.Well i was in that audience and proud to be carrying it when needed. These shows have emotion like you wouldn't believe unless you were there and i saw the last 20 shows the Grateful Dead ever played.People want to make fun of a band that never let them down(maybe forgetting some words) big friggin deal. Even at their weakest they still out did any other band. Take that and put it in your pipe and smoke it.

I know it's hard to criticize the band but Jerry sounds completely lost during Wharf Rat. Its almost like he's playing the opening riff of Throwing Stones along with Wharf Rat but in a strangely done manner. His timing on the vocals are so off it's not funny. The band behind him have no idea whats going on and can't follow him. Usually when the Dead redo a song they practice it some before hand. But in this version you can clearly hear they didn't and five guys behind Jerry are floundering about because they clueless as to whats going on. It sounds like a jam with Wharf Rat's lyrics. Further proof to me that Wharf Rat did not go well is the fact the next song (NFA) Jerry was turned down and you can't hear him It is also the only time I have ever heard were he doesn't take a solo on NFA.

Anyways I am not a good judge of this era so my opinion might not be good. I hardly have listen to the 90's shows if ever. In fact I have never heard any of the new songs like Days Between etc.. After 300 shows in the 80's I quit in 1991 and didn't look back. The scene no longer justified the music to me. I still regularly (daily) listen to the 60',70's and early 80's but this time period I can't justify. It's too cluttered and plastic (synthetic and computer generated) sounding for my tastes. Remember now this is only my opinion and never are opinions fact.

About the Wharf Rat...it sounds as if maybe Jer was trying to go a new way this this tune, but the band wouldn't have any of it. He finally surrenders and tries to make aomething out of a failed attempt at improv....hey sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I would tend to give Jerry the benefit of the doubt here. Nothing more than an attempt to mix it up a bit.

Not the greatest aud recording, I'm guessing it's a BOB (back of board ;)), but a fabulous show nonetheless.
Worth checking out a bluesy Same Thing and a barn burnin' Stagger Lee (the outro is smoking). Second set song selection is sweet and I believe the playing is above average (crazy Spanish Jam...)
Thanks to the recorder and to those who made it possible for all of us to listen to it.

3 Stars for Bobby's jean cut-offs
5 Stars for the Grateful Dead

I attended this show(the last of close to 200) and was so disappointed i actually gave away my tix for the next night on the way out of the stadium. Not just the tunes (I was actually cringing and embarrased for Jer during the WRat), but the wall jumpers and vibe. Oh well, it would be my last. Some shows just don't "work," and this is one of 'em.

ed. If you're in the camp that believes it's a "creative"/inventive Wharf Rat, why does Garcia head back to the original version of the tune after the the slow bridge and not continue in the "creative" vein for the remainder of the song? Because the rest of the band was able to musically force him to, that's why. To each his own, though....

...by summer of '95 and this sorry excuse of a Dead show proves it.

I guess I'm one of those "fools" who doesn't think it's heresey to criticize a band that was clearly in rapid decline. I'll continue to speak honestly, however. When the boys were on they were beyond amazing, but they weren't all keepers, folks, and some of them weren't even very good.

By the mid 90s, most of them weren't.

Poorly played music is just that, regardless of who is manning the instruments. Garcia is obviously beyond exhausted, and his bandmates are audibly going through the motions. It all adds up to a once great band no longer able to find even a brief spark of the old firepower. As a whole, this show blows. The first set is lifeless, though not appreciably worse than the typical soggy 1995 effort. The pre-drums portion of the second set continues the evening's free fall, and the post drums segment is nothing short of musical incontinence, "highlighted" by the embarrassing debacle that occurs as Jerry fumbles for his place at the start of "Wharf Rat". He isn't "doing something new", he's completely lost. This epidsode is discussed in Blair Jackson's Garcia: An American Life. Both the band and the crew recognized this as an uninentional train wreck. To claim 10 years after the fact that he "meant" to fall apart like that is nothing more than revisionist history.

Truly horrid.

The EMOTION pouring out from this evening is tremendous.

That is what this band is about, being truthful, bringing your demons from the past to the surface and dealing with them. I am sure thousdands of Dead Fans from around the globe would agree with me on this, being at a show (which is something I was never fortunate enough to do, I was born in 89' and none of my parents are Heads at all), every show that you attended was a spiritual expierence, allowing you to accept who you are as an individual, and deal with your realities, all your demons would come face to face with you, and hopefully by the end of the 2nd set of a show you would be able to stand up smile, turn to your neighbor give them a high five, hug, handshake whatever your thing is, and look up at the band, and smile, knowing that they had helped you reach that magical place, that place that we all deserve to exist on a daily basis. This is truth music, whatever was going on with the members of the band at the time came out through the music, and that is one thing that is so very special about the Grateful Dead.

I hope there are others out there who Feel Like I DO.

Gotta love every show that they performed, no matter the ups and downs, of course we all love the ups, and not so much the downs, but as a previous review stated, that is how life is. We get up, and then we get down. We can only stay up for so long... Make Sense?

I hope so.

Five Stars for the fact that no music elsewhere has and will ever reach the same level that GD does.

I listen to a lot of music, Jazz, Bluegrass, Blues, Classical, Fusion, Rock, Etc.. nothing gets THERE like GD Music Does. It's truth music everyone.

Wharf Rat, what a special, special rendition my oh my.

I mean wharf rat is sad, real sad. a week later though at RFk jerry lays down my favorite one ever and one that i think most people could agree is 5 stars. As much shit as could ever be talked here aside, who wouldnt give a few things away to see the dead, even if it was towards the end. Jerry on stage, better than any band that plays now

Dude, would matter to you if even the band themselves knew they sucked at this point.

During a GD meeting back in the early 90's Candace Brightman asked for a larger budget for lighting and lighting effects. Garcia's direct response to this request was ...."sure let her have it, maybe that's why they keep coming."



This show along with all of '95. I stopped being in Grateful Dead denial in '93 and listening to some samples of the final 2 years of GD.... what a good decision that was. Heck even the band knew they sucked at that point. The good thing about the GD being gone is it allows one to be objective and choose, without having to rationalize something ongoing. I have gravitated to the period between '70-'74. I find this period contains some of the most listenable music (beyond the weirdness of the 60's and before the bullshit 80's and 90's). More important than any sound or style, what I hear most in the 70's is musicianship. The net result is the best American music that I've ever heard (just watch the new release of the movie) Garcia was brilliant, and what sheer joy it is to just sit there and watch it. So to the junk pile with all that Easy Answers/Samba in the Rain/Wang Dang Doodle/ teleprompter shit, and give me the good ole Grateful Dead. R.I.P JJG.

[This is an amended review following further
contemplation of this show. The original review
is under the solid line below]



This is by far the most provocative and interesting thread I have seen for a dead show on
the archives. Following my initial review, I
restudied the whole show in agonizing detail.

Conclusions? A splendid show. I'm upping my
original star rating. Wharf Rat is stunningly
re-invented, Eyes is superb, Bertha hustles
with a fine solo, etc. Jerry is playing above
average for this period in his life in fact.

I'll be the average on this show will eventually
be 4 stars after enough people chime in.

Hell, I remember the first Tampa '78 show.
Jerry was clearly bored and didn't bother to
conceal it. Half the time he was just pointing
at members of the audience and laughing. Still
a worthwhile show, but there were probably plenty
of people who would have written a review right
afterwards that exactly mirrored the sentiments
of the naysayers for this show!

One problem may be that Jerry and the boys
were finally breaking past the rock idiom
and experimenting with subtle and intricate
jazz stylings that simply sailed over the
heads of the post-"In The Dark" crowd who
simply came to party. Half the '95 crowd
at most shows didn't know the difference
between Around and Around and Dark Star.
No offense intended.
__________________________________________________
What a fascinating discussion on this show. So
polarized and regarding such a controversial
year. My download was really slow this time, so
I took my time and carefully read every review
before listening to the music.

My take is that the Wharf Rat is INDEED THE
REAL THING!! And very exciting and bold at that!
Garcia is clearly not confused and fumbling,
but he is feeling his way, exploring a new
musical interpretation. The boys back him up
just fine. I have to say this rendition is
both a creative success and listenable.

While it is true that there are many, many
fine moments in 1995, the boys were definitely
engaged in a tough uphill struggle and Garcia
was the cement sled. But even on a terrible
night this band outperformed equivalent super-
bands.
I grew up in England in the 1960s and was
extremely lucky to have been exposed to the
immortal music scene of that period.
Nevertheless, the number of totally stinker
Rolling Stones Concerts must number in the
many hundreds - I mean a complete lack of even
basic musical functionality. The Who, while
geniuses in their own right, confined themselves
musically to a very basic skill level and
yet performed many shows at a level that would
make a subpar bar band blush.
Get enough musical experience under your belt
and you'll never regret listening to the Dead
again.

I wish I could respond directly to the fools who think there were no good moments at Grateful Dead shows after this year or that year.

Jerry did *NOT* fool me into crying during Stella Blue or Standing on the Moon in 1994 or 95. I saw Big Boss Man is 1995...and Jerry was completely present and aware of what was going on.

Have any of you ever even listened to say a '93 Days Between at Deer Creek. Such fools.

That being said I agree that this is one of the more creative Wharf Rats ever.

One of the reasons the Grateful Dead were *Great* is because they took chances. Sometimes they worked sometimes they didn't but no matter it is better than hearing some other band play the same old song the same old way over and over again.

I guess we are all just spoiled by what came before. Just that some of us are spoiled brats. Do us all a favor and get in a time machine and go back to 1974 and leave us alone.

My apologies to anyone who came here wanting to know what the sound quality is like etc. That is what the reviews are supposed to be for. I just can't take the '95 bashing anymore. And between 1980 and 1995 I saw some 50 shows so I am not a n00b defending one of the only three shows I attended or anything.

Peace and Love everybody!

"rollthembones" is dead on with his take on Wharf Rat. Being in the 5th row or something that night, I was blown away by Wharf Rat, it what the most creative I'd seen Jerry "remake" a tune in a long time. Did it work? That's up to you. However, remember Dylan opened these shows and killed. I remember hearing Weir and Mickey commenting that why didn't *that* Dylan show up in their tour together. Jerry, to me when I was watching the show, was clearly phrasing Wharf Rat like Dylan. I turned to my friend at the time and said, he's singing this like Dylan would. Later most everyone thought he messed it up, but one other friend of mind caught it also. Soooo...am I right? I don't know but I certainly think so. I do know everyone that is so sure of him screwing it up might not be right either. Oh, my last show, I skipped the 2nd night for the first time in my life at Giants. This show was more than decent, I knew they wouldn't top it the next night and they were to iffy it wasn't worth it. The Same Thing cooked. I remember Stagger Lee being very good. Those are what I remember of the show without looking at the list or listening to this.

Steve

So, I'm surprised that NO one discussed the drum intro into China>Rider. I remember it very clearly. I was on the floor of Giants Stadium (or the tarp, whatever) and I was walking towards my seat and they started the second set and it started with a drum beat, and then Vince kind of chimed in and then they broke into it. I thought it was really cool and unless I'm mistaken I don't know that it happened in the past. I also remember how odd Jerry's guitar sounded at first. It eventually resolved and sounded more like 1995 normal, but for the first minute or so it's really really electric sounding and twangy. Anyway, maybe nobody thought the intro was noteworthy, but I did. :)

Please dont bother, regardless of how curious you are. The Stanger and Bertha hurt much more than the Wharf Rat. I loved that guy for what he did for me on so many occasions.

With regard to "Wharf Rat"...yeah right- he meant to do it. Sure, that's it. He just "forgot" to tell the rest of the band. It wasn't an embrassing moment, it was an "experiment"....lol....whatever.

It's really too bad people can't love Jerry as a person without turning him into some flawless diety incapable of mistakes.

This is show is among the worst ever played by the Dead, right up there with Borreal Ridge in 1985.NO energy from the band, sloppy playing, etc.

First I glanced at these reviews then I just listened to this version of Wharf Rat for the first time and found it to be quite exploratory , with some extremely successful moments. How exciting to hear the Dead go off on a limb on a song like this.I then listened to the whole show. As much as I like Touch of Grey and its clean lines and clear destinations, I thrive on the music created by this sort of endeavour...sometimes it works better than other times but how exciting it is to hear Jerry and the others go exploring . There is some VERY ON playing and singing some inside , some outside and sometimes it slips and falters...but it sometimes soars - yeah during this much maligned show - its The Grateful Dead -listen again . Its not a Healey mix unfortunately but ...oh well I don't fully understand that stuff and probably never will.

Ya know, it has been annoying me for sometime that some of these reviews are so misguided. First of all, let me start off by saying that the show is clearly not a stellar effort by any stretch of the imagination, and the sound quality of this AUD is lacking as well; however, I would just like to assure anyone that doesn't know any better that Garcia, who was obviously not doing that well, did not just "get lost in the music" during Wharf Rat. Actually what he did was relatively creative, as he took a shuffle, Wharf Rat, a song in which the verses are usually swung and instead played a modified theme of Throwing Stones, aborting the triplet feel of a tune that is swung to a song where there is an eighth note pulse. Conceptually speaking, he was doing something relatively cool, but in performance THROUGHOUT, it is terrible. That is NOT all Garcia's fault, and if you listen to the rest of the band too, you will realize Jerry's idea doesn't change, but the rest of The Dead, having gotten so used to playing the song swung, struggle to follow Jerry. Should Jerry have rehearsed this idea with the rest of the gang? Sure! Should he at least have communicated it to them during their drum break? Probably, if they were even talking to each other at that point. However, I think that this situation is more indicative of what the Dead were at this stage. It stated in McNally's book on the Dead that at this point in the bands history, one day, the sound guy (Cutler?) checked each individual in-ear monitor mix only to find out that each player in the band was TUNING OUT the other band members in their monitor mix, listening to themselves most prominently, and THAT is ugly! Yes, Garcia was sick, but to pin all of the Dead's musical problems on him is just as ridiculous as giving him all of the credit when the band sounded great.

I'VE THE REVIEWS.OK,MAYBE IT WASN'T THE BEST SHOW,HOWEVER,THERE WERE REALLY MEMORABLE MOMENTS FOR ME.THAT DEAL ROCKED AND VINCES KEYBOARD WORK WAS MEMORABLE.I REMEMBER THIS SHOW WITH A TEAR IN MY EYE,BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST TIME I SAW JERRY ALIVE.MAY HE REST IN PEACE.EVERBODY REMEMBERS ALL THE MUSIC.WELL I GO BACK TO 1967 WITH THE BOYS.I'M A DEADHEAD NOT JUST BECAUSE OF THE MUSIC,BUT BECAUSE OF THE TREMEMNDOUS LOVE SHOWN BY THE BAND AND THE ATMOSPHERE OF LOVE.SOMETIMES I GOT MORE LOVE AND AFFECTION AT A SHOW ,THAN I DID AT HOME.CAn anyone relate?

aint nobodys fault but mine for downloading this crap damn i am still on my quest to find a 95 show that just isnt painful but have not found any luck well (6/30) isnt so bad but this show flops in so many ways jerry is just out of it and i cant even begin to pick this crap apart word to the younger heads out there dont waste ur time with this show or ne 95 for that matter stay away i suggest ne thing before 9/20/90 personally emphasis on 68-77 really smokin stuff there but back to the show yea....just dont i give it 0.01 stars but i have to round up

definately agree with deadpeaked74 he couldnt have said it ne better...

Sorry to have to say it after so many great years, but there couldn't have been much question after this debacle that the end was at hand. The poor misguided soul down below who thinks that "Wharf Rat" sounds funny because Jerry was trying to "give us a Dylan-style version" is in complete denial. Jerry played it that way because he didn't know where the fuck he was in the music. He was up there in front of 50,000 people trying to play a song he'd been playing for 24 years and he had no idea how to do it. Point blank period. The rest of the band practically stops playing because they didn't know what the hell was going on. Blame drugs, age, exhaustion, indifference, whatever, but the bottom line was that it was a moment of utter incompetence that was painful to listen to.


The Dead had plenty of off nights in their career, but this was different- it was as though all of the skill, energy, and magic had been drained from the group, and you just knew it wasn't coming back. Saying some version or another is "one of the best of '95" does nothing to recommend it. This whole year was a sad joke. The first 2/3rds of this show is incredibly weak, but the post drums segment is a true abomination. Recommended only for those who have to have everything and those who want to believe it was good because it was the only era of Dead they got to see.

Hate to tell the people who were on tour in '95 this, but this isn't the Grateful Dead. You folks were chasing smoke and memories.

This show is an embarassing travesty and a sonic disgrace. Every song stinks, and if this was in fact the "best" China>Rider they could summon up by '95 then its simply a condemnation of how little was left in the tank.

Wow. This is really embarassing. The good old Grateful Dead rendered essentially musically impotent, unable to execute even the most basic of their trademark musical maneuvers. I mean, Miracle>Wharf Rat, come on, how hard is that? They should have quit right then and there, as soon as this "show" was over, stuck Jerry in rehab, and taken a huge break, like 4-5 years. Terrible.

First of all I want to emphasize that this is not a true 5 star show, but it is not a 2 stars either!!! This show is WAY BETTER than Highgate was, and most of the rest of 1995. Stranger is nice, with the band really pulling it together at the end. The Same thing is nicer, A VERY JAMMY Stagger Lee, & the last Deal ever played might be one of the better jams in all of '95!! I know the others who were at this one with me, got goose bumops during China>Rider. It is very well sung & played, Jerry wails his "Northbound train" part! Jiffyruffle was right in judging that one. Hands down the best China>Rider of '95!! Yes Wharf Rat was very shaky, but I what would you give to hear Jerry sing any song again?! Great setlist, above average show (for '95) The only reason I gave this one 5 stars is to boost the rating average. Don't hesitate, this one is not as bad as everyone else seems to think. All of the other reviewers are basing their rating by comparing this show to one from the 70's Or one of the other hundreds they say they saw. I for one am Grateful I got to see Jerry sing Eyes, China>Rider, Bertha, etc. Actually, Eternity is nice with Jerry really experimenting with the "magic wand". If you don't mind post Brent era dead, this one won't dissapoint!
Enjoy!

The Wally Stine recording , with the patch , is one you want. Have fun.

Everyone needs to calm down & quit cursing out & bashing this show. I'm willing to bet half of these so called deadheads haven't even listened to this show. The seeder mentions wharf rat & eveyone seems to base their opinion on that alone. Gived this one a listen. Stranger is tight, Stagger Lee has a nice jam at the end. The Same Thing is very nicely played & sung. China>Rider is hands down the best version of 1995. Jerry really tried to play his heart out in this show, he was out of breath at the end of each of his songs. IMHO the fact that they just played Bertha & had the crowd rockin' was better than the entire Highgate performance. So give this one a chance & stop rippin' it because the Wharf Rat was a clunker. Three stars for '95

The performance of Wharf Rat is easily the single worst performance of a song by the GD. I'm somehow drawn to train-wrecks and was expecting a good laugh from this one, but instead got a stomach ache. Was this the same Jerry Garcia that could melt your brain in 1968? Apparently yes. RIP Jerome John.

This is the last of the 95's I plan on checking out. Granted, I knowingly chose a turd going into it, but I had to check out that wharf rat and I'm still numb. This show put me into a serious funk. This concert is absolutely no representation of the band I love. Worse than soldier field by far. This is freakin depressing.
I'm off to spring 87 to get my shit straight again.

total shit.fucking garbage

This was the last of not nearly enough shows I attended. I only got to see the dead in the early 90's because I was born in '78 and my parents wouldn't let me go until a certain age. I can remember leaving this show and being so disappointed that I could never see the dead in their day but thanks to the archive, the music won't die. It was a sad night at Giants Stadium, you could tell the end was very near.

this would be my last show, and certanily was my brothers last show. I remember as we left we commented that garcia neede to check himself in for some rest. those jumbo tron monitors were not kind on Jerrys frail , sickly looking self. I really felt like we were watching a genious dying.. sad and upset are words that come to mind. I saw my first show in 74.. and this was the worst, some previous folks were very kind in there reviews.. both nights at giants stadium were weak at best... after jerry checked out.. my brother tom said i was cryptical at the giants stadium shows saying we may never see him again... who knew... I would loose my brother 6 years later on sept. 11th... I never saw that comming... Im sure jerry is playing som e sweet music for all .. anyt way most of 95 and this show in particular are for the folks who need every thing.... thanks jerry for a great ride...

Unfortunatly not a very good show. Giants stadium was always a good time, great parking lot scene, and the music usually was great. This is a 95 show so im sure you wont be shocked that it wasn't very good. Wharf rat was strange, I would download that if I were you just to check it out. Otherwise I would go for something else. I give it 2 stars for the sound quality of the recording.

i was at this show and let me tell you it was pretty bad. there were "some" decent seconds that my longwinded comrade explains after my reveiw.
i've had this show since 96' and have yet to manage to sit through the whole thing.
do yourself a favor and save the 231.7 mb.or download some porn
i give it a 1 because i had a good time in the lot.

i remember it being hot as hell and just as humid for both of the NJ shows. this was my last show with my fiance and i thought it was one of the best of the summer tour next to pittsburgh and the first nights at riverport and soldier field. this recording sounds good to these ears. just want to add my opinion of the wharf rat. sure it sounds messed up in the begining and jerry sounds lost but listening to this again, it reminded me at the time i was thinking jerry is trying to give us a dylan-style wharf rat with a bluesy intro by singing the verses a little faster and slowing down the music. personaly i thought it was pretty cool. the LSD encore was nice and cought me by suprise. it was a little bizare at the time being that my fiance's grandmother had passed away just 3 weeks earlier and her name was lucy.the recording sounds very good for and aud at giants. i thing it's worth the DL.

I remember leaving this show and hearing people talk about a new song Jerry sang out of space. They were referring to the Wharf Rat. It was that bad.
It's a moment that the band commented about in a seperate interview which didn't focus on the show. Jerry was off that night, still the rest of the show had it's moments.

This is a hard show to review, as it starts and ends rather sloppily, but the middle contains some of the best energy of the '95 Summer Tour. The show gets off to a really bad start with a very off-key Stranger - Garcia sounds more like he is casually jamming along to a tune on the radio rather than playing with the rest of the band. However, after a shakey Bertha this show really picks up with a sharp Same Thing, followed by an on fire Stagger Lee, Jerry really getting into the groove. Eternity is a bit messy as always, but could have been a lot worse. Deal though is again right on target, with Jerry doing some really great runs for '95, even if he isn't turned up too loud for some of the song.

Fortunatly the energy doesn't stop there, flowing right into the second set with the best China>Rider of the tour, a great version of Way To Go (which will get you rocking even if you're not much of a Vince fan), and a nice Eyes which Jerry handles very well both lyrically and musically. After Drums and Space however, the momentum starts to fade - A decent Spanish Jam and powerful Miracle are followed by one of the strangest moments I've ever heard at a GD show. Jerry sounds like he is going to play the intro for Throwing Stones, but then tries to morph it into an out of time Wharf Rat...though he can't quite get it right, and repeats it over and over. The rest of the band completely STOP while they wait to see what he's trying to do, and have only just joined in with his spacey little jam when he starts singing! Right chords, right lyrics, wrong rhythm, and this is only rectified after the first chorus! Needless to say, this very awkward moment puts an end to the party pretty much, with NFA and Lucy In The Sky being very average renditions, Jerry's playing sinking back into shakey mode.

Sound wise, this recording is very good for an AUD, not too much crowd noise, not too much echo and not too much bass. And on a technical note, this show fits nicely on 2 discs if you put China>Rider and WTG on Disc 1. Download this show if you want to hear some great energy for such a late date, but be warned that the Wharf Rat intro will put things back into perspective.